The Journal

The Texas Lyceum Journal, published by the Texas Lyceum from 1984-2013, was often thematic and occasionally given to wholly eclectic readings. Articles have been written by scholars, luminaries, Lyceum members, and your next door expert. The intent was always to further discourse on complicated topics through their elucidation in the Journal. Each issue of the Journal was edited to be in keeping with the Lyceum's philosophy of valuing differing opinions by representing as many views and opinions of our State's leaders as possible. The Journal was a mainstay of Texas' civic leaders and was often traditionally published in conjunction with the Lyceum's public conference.

Beginning in 2015, the Lyceum shifted from capturing content from our conferences in printed form to capturing that content through videos. You will find links to these videos under the Meetings tab and embedded in the descriptions of our quarterly meetings starting in 2015.

A limited number of the printed Journal is available. If you wish to obtain a hard copy of a prior issue, please contact the Lyceum Administrator.

Posts

The Texas Lyceum Journal is traditionally a complement to the annual Lyceum Public Conference. For the 2012/2013 publication of the Journal, we are doing something slightly different. In addition to the articles that capture the content of the public conferences, we also highlight topics from each of the quarterly meetings.

Contributors to the Journal provide insight and expertise on a range of issues such as education, transportation infrastructure, healthcare innovation, water and more.

The hallmark of the Texas Lyceum quarterly meetings is in-depth presentations and discussions with subject matter experts in their fields. This year’s Journal captures this expertise on a broad range of topics. The Journal shares with readers the breadth of knowledge Texas Lyceum Directors engage in each year. We hope you find these articles thought provoking and that you take the time to find out more about the Texas Lyceum at www.texaslyceum.org.

For many of us, the topic of public pension systems may not seem relevant to our daily lives. The purpose of the 2011 Public Conference was to explain why public pension systems are important to all of us, both as beneficiaries of the services that public employees provide and as taxpayers who are ultimately responsible for the promises we make to those who serve the public interest.

As a complement to the 2011 Public Conference, the Texas Lyceum Journal is comprised of several relevant articles from participants in the conference and others with unique expertise in the subject area. In addition to these articles, the entire Conference can be watched on the internet by visiting http://www.vimeo.com/album/1572109.

Thank you to our very generous sponsors for allowing the Lyceum to present a conference of this magnitude on such an important, timely topic. A full listing of these sponsors can be found on the back cover of the Journal.

The Lyceum's first conference in the 2010 Great Debate Series was titled “Our Growing Lives Online: Safe or Not?” and explored the risks we incur by having much of our information available and potentially vulnerable on the Internet. Lyceum Directors, statewide elected officials, and policy experts met February 5-6 in San Antonio to examine how hackers have a growing number of venues through which they can mine consumer information, potentially threatening our reputations, financial security and identity.

Energy comes in a variety of forms to power our homes, cars, and create jobs. How we use it, conserve it and choose to harness it defines us in so many ways. How much energy will Texas need for the future? Can Texas and the U.S. become energy independent? How important is energy independence for our future?

The Texas Lyceum tackled these difficult, timely and pressing questions during its third Great Debate conference held August 5 – 6 in Midland, Texas.

The extremely timely topic of health care affordability and how it becomes reality in Texas was a chief topic of discussion at the Texas Lyceum’s third Great Debate conference, “Beyond Health Care Reform: Re-Imagining Affordability, Wellness and Accessibility for Texans,” in Houston on April 22-24.

Participants included federal and state elected officials who discussed and debated the possibilities and pitfalls of the newly passed health care reform bill. Health care experts from the front lines - doctors, educators and private industry leaders - also spoke on critical issues from valuing preventative care to fighting childhood obesity to immunization mandates.

The 2009 Lyceum Journal focuses on the Stimulus Package. With so many urgent needs facing our state, how should Texas’ elected officials wade into spending from the stimulus package? Are we in danger of becoming dependent on federal funds to run our state, or must we address the myriad shortfalls in our budget, given the nation’s troubled economy?

These were just a few of the many questions posed during the Texas Lyceum’s 24th Public Conference to be held next month in Austin, “The 2009 Federal Stimulus Package: What’s in it (or not) for Texas?”

Transportation Infrastructure loomed as the key topic for the 2009 Legislature. Few public policy topics so universally affect the public as our transportation infrastructure. The Texas Lyceum tackled this compelling topic in its 2008 Public Conference with an innovative presentation and small group facilitation process that engaged nearly 400 audience members in the process of "Establishing Public Policy Priorities."

More than 26 speakers, including U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, addressed the topics of Freight, Sustainability, Delivering Texas Infrastructure and Financing Options. While the audience was varied in its perspective and geographic representation, the consensus on the priorities were remarkable. The 2008 Journal summarizes the proceedings of the Lyceum's 23rd Annual Public Conference and includes numerous other insightful articles on this critical topic.

The Texas Lyceum continues to probe crucial policy topics in this Journal issue on the separation of church and state. What the articles point out most clearly is that this topic, most commonly thought of as fundamental and settled, is anything but clear.

The corps of authors are impressive, national experts; several have argued before the Texas or U.S. Supreme Courts and all have deep knowledge and experience which is apparent in their presentation of key insights on separation of church and state.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006 6:12 PM |
Anonymous

Introduction

Economic development initiatives have been a major public policy focus for the State of Texas in the most recent past. To further discussion on economic development topics, the Texas Lyceum is publishing the 2006 Journal in conjunction with its public conference held in San Antonio in November 2006. The goal of both the conference and the Journal is to stimulate the discussion between public and private sector stakeholders on the future economic development activities in the State.

Overview

Economic development activities have helped diversify and grow the burgeoning economy of the State of Texas. The multifaceted components that go into creating a successful economic development policy are wide ranging, and share varying degrees of support throughout the State. This issue of the Journal covers topics that cut to the core of economic development – research and development, access to capital, higher education, and commercialization, to name a few.

The Lyceum's Public Conference in October, 2005 focused on high school education in Texas. Few topics have such a profound effect on our society and our collective future. This conference brought together state, national and international experts in the field of high school education to discuss this critical issue.

High school is such a critical part of our educational process that should we fail there, we fail. The articles in this issue of the Lyceum Journal deal with knowledge, knowledge acquisition and the systems supporting that process. The authors address not only our failures of leadership and process but give suggestions for hope and more importantly, change. This issue is divided into the following perspectives: the description of need/where improvements must be made; methods to achieve these improvements; and specific models and programs which target specific improvements.